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Category: Neosperience Apps

Introducing The Next Generation Store [VIDEO]

Posted on by Neosperience Team

The smartphone is at the forefront of a digital transformation that is quickly disrupting the physical identity of the retail store.

Customer behaviors, tastes, and needs are continuously rewritten by technology. The keywords to understanding this shift are personalization and relevance.

In the age of mobile screens, a successful model of content delivery needs to reflect this change.

Netflix constantly upgrades its list of films and TV series to reflect the preferences and habits of the user. Amazon adapts its e-commerce showcase to offer the most relevant products based on the context and the history of purchases.

People expect customized content, products, and offers. If this happens on your smartphone, why are you not doing the same in your store or agency?

A store that becomes smart and is able to communicate with customers one to one may mark a turning point in many industries, from fashion, to retail and financial services.

The ability to create a memorable and innovative customer experience is essential if you want to achieve the most ambitious business results.

Creating compelling digital experiences, also in-store, is crucial but is a difficult, time-consuming and expensive task. It's time for something better, something easier, something smarter.

With Neosperience Cloud, the creation of the Next Generation Store becomes easy.

Also, if you have not done yet, download The Mobile Engagement Playbook, a collection of relevant insights based on many years of Neosperience's expertise that'll help you to overcome the challenges of the digital transformation and grow your business exponentially.

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Harness The Power Of Mobile Apps To Create Happy Customers

Posted on by Neosperience Team

mobile-apps-customers.jpg

Creating happy and loyal customers is a great deal of concern for today’s businesses. For this very reason, they are turning towards different ways to generate genuine engagement and improve the customer experience.

For many brands, employing innovative channels - such as mobile - represent the missing link to get closer to their customers. The question is: How can you harness the power of mobile apps to change positively your customer experience and gain a competitive advantage?

Today, the smartphone acts like our personal metronome that sets the pace of daily routine. Both as human beings and customers, we strongly rely on mobile devices and apps to carry out the most diverse activities: playing, communicating, socializing, buying.

According to recent researches, in fact:

  • More than 80% of all online adults of the most developed countries now have a smartphone.
  • Mobile searches on Google have now overtaken desktop searches, forcing companies to the mobile-friendly evolution.
  • Apps now account for 86% of the time spent on mobile devices, replacing web browsers as the primary door to access the Internet.

It is no wonder, then, that companies are increasingly utilizing mobile apps to interact and connect with digital customers. Apps are not just a way to ‘be there’. They can be the perfect mean to engage with customers, reach them when and where it matters most, sell products (ever heard about mobile commerce?) and increase revenue.

Statistics confirms that apps represent a unique opportunity to build a deeper relationship with customers. As the number of competitors continues to grow, though, the real challenge is to avoid the backlash of bad development and prevent that the app ultimately disappears in the mare magnum of app stores.

“Be different, be epic” this is the secret to achieving sustainable growth in the expanding global market we live in. But how? All industries face this challenge in a scenario where the only constant is constant change:

  • Consumer goods and retail brands need to overcome the rise of e-commerce and mobile commerce, reinventing the very idea of store to reach customers when they are ready to take decisions.
  • Insurance and financial services are now evaluated by customers like any other type of brands. They need to start caring about loyalty, reinventing the experience, exploiting multiple touch points to connect with clients.
  • Fashion and luxury brands probably have the hardest task. They need to embrace the power of technology to appeal digital customers; at the same time, they need to avoid losing their legacy and the sense of traditional and exclusive that nurture their identity.
  • Health and government services need to shorten the distance that separates them from customers. They need to overcome the greyness of bureaucracy and evolve to become more open, accessible and efficient.

They all have a common problem: find a way to connect (meaningfully) the physical and digital worlds. So it happens that the need to differentiate brings back the attention to what is really important: the experience. Building a powerful customer experience is becoming increasingly difficult because everyone is also trying to create something unique, stunning and personal.

Happy customers are the result of an amazing experience. Experiences that are truly unique and personalized drive satisfaction, encourage positive word of mouth and pave the way to customer advocacy. In a few words, they create the foundations to drive market share and revenue growth.

How do you connect the online and offline dimensions? How do you create a differentiated experience? In a world dominated by all sorts of mobile devices (smartphones, smartwatches, activity trackers) the answer is right in front of your eyes.

Following this line of thought, more and more businesses are uploading their branded apps to the stores. The problem is, many are doing it without a plan or even a strong reason why. They are not developing the apps for their customers; they are doing it because everyone else is doing it. A misleading idea that only leads to disaster.

The fact that mobile apps have become a popular tool for business marketing does not necessary mean that they will work for your business as some sort of magic, bringing customers to your stores like the pied piper of Hamelin.

Being easily accessible via mobile devices is top priority but, in the end, it is not the ‘what’ that will decide whether you will be successful; it is rather the ‘how’ and the ‘why’. How are you going to engage customers with your mobile app? Why are you doing it in the first place?

As mobile devices integrate deeper into the digital marketing strategy, it is time to bring the conversation about apps to the next level. To understand how you can deliver value to your clients and provide a superior overall experience, across all stages of the improved customer journey.

Here are some ideas on how you can harness the power of mobile apps to fulfill customer’s desires, and live with them happily ever after.

GUARANTEE CONVENIENCE

A well-thought mobile app is the perfect tool to engage customers in the exact (micro) moment that matters most, wherever they are. To work efficiently, your app must be smart (able to deliver the right content), personalized (able to learn from behavior), contextual (able to show location-aware content).

PLAY WITH CUSTOMERS

Customers love discounts, and marketers know it. They also love reward, and not so many marketers know it. Reward ensures loyalty, but traditional loyalty programs are costly and not efficient anymore. The answer lies in games: success stories show that gamification dynamics helps to engage customers and keep them coming back to your app and store.

CREATE ‘APPMOSPHERE’

Digital leaders sometimes struggle to maintain the right balance between two distinctive demands: customer engagement on the one hand and brand identity on the other hand. One way to connect the two is to improve the online presence through an innovative customer-facing app that delivers a sense of exclusivity and creates a unique ‘appmosphere’.

DEVELOP A HUMAN BRAND

Despite the prejudices, a branded app is not meant just to remind customers of your brand’s existence. They can be used for various purposes, which includes engagement, loyalty and customer service. Opening a two-way dialogue with users can be used to improve the connection, get feedback, respond to issues, and ultimately show the human face of your company.

CAPITALIZE ON DATA POWER

Customer-facing apps improve the communication but also serve as collectors of information about customers, their social habits and purchase behaviors. Apps can be substantial sources of data that enhance your knowledge if you know how to read them. You will get a better understanding of your customers, and you will be able to predict their behaviors and adapt your strategy accordingly.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Top 10 KPIs To Measure Mobile App Development Success

To help you provide a strategic advantage to your organization, Neosperience has crafted the first DCX 7-Steps Checklist, with requirements and insights for a successful digital transformation. Download the free guide here:

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5 Common Myths About App Store Optimization

Posted on by Neosperience Team

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Apps are dead. Apps will rule the world. Despite the amount of analysis and hypothesis, the future of mobile apps is clearly still uncertain. What is evident is that, right now, we are talking about a global market estimated to grow to 143 billion dollars by 2016.

As opportunities rise, so does competition. The only way to respond to the app store competition is to get better at it. You do not just need to know what to do; you also must understand what ‘not’ to do. Here we highlight the most common myths about the app store optimization (ASO). Mistakes that you should avoid at all costs.

In the recent years, apps have replaced desktop computers and mobile browsers as the main tool to access the Internet. We have reached one billion smartphones in the whole world; that means apps have become a critical touch point in the digital customer journey.

Be it smartphone, tablet, smartwatch or wearable technology, people are downloading apps; people are buying apps; people are using apps. Just think about your average day. You rely on them to:

  • Check the weather forecasts;
  • Track & measure your morning fitness activities;
  • Verify your meetings in the calendar;
  • Control the email box;
  • Find the fastest way to the office;
  • Receive discounts and buy your favorite products;
  • Reserve a table at a restaurant and then review the experience;
  • Get back home using someone else’s car;
  • Post your daily thoughts and pictures on social networks;
  • Chat with your friends.

Users evidently prefer free apps, but they also gladly spend their money if they get in exchange apps that increase productivity or offer something new and different. You can have the best app in the world but, if you do not know how to market it, you will not gain any consent.

With in-apps purchases and advertising, in fact, the mobile applications ecosystem cannot be considered a closed box anymore. What we have here is a broader market with huge investments and revenues (both for developers and other related industries).

Competing with over 3 million mobile apps available for the major mobile operating systems - iOS, Android, Windows Phone - how can you overcome the others and get customers’ attention? To make money on apps, your app needs to be seen. Here is where app store optimization comes in handy.

Said that the mere number of downloads is swiftly losing all its weight when measuring the success of a mobile app strategy, that is still the first thing that managers would see. The potential to drive large amounts of downloads at no cost, therefore, is still enticing to any developer.

While still overlooked, app store optimization is an incredibly important opportunity. Just like search engine optimization, though, ASO is a marketing science that requires time and devotion. It has specific rules, tips, and threats. In a few words, it demands a knowledge of what you are doing.

Searching is still the most popular way to discover apps: roughly 65% of app purchasers search, discover and purchase apps browsing the app store. Without the right approach, your app could get lost in the crowd. The right approach involves the ability to deploy best practices and to avoid common mistakes.

A couple of weeks ago we talked about the best practices in app store optimization, and how you can leverage the store to make it an integral part of the digital customer experience. Here we are going to bust the many misconceptions that might misguide you in your path to mobile marketing success.

1. YOU NEED TO CHANGE YOUR TITLE OFTEN

As stated by Ankit Jain, head of Google Play search, the title is the most important metadata in the store optimization. That said, you do not really need to change the title every once in a while to reach higher rankings. Adding keywords, mixing keywords or even changing the name of the product will not ensure you any advantage. On the contrary, it may harm your strategy.

Pick a title and stick to it. The title is your best tool in the app store optimization, make sure it is short, unique and memorable; and ultimately include all relevant keywords, without stuffing keywords in it.

2. IT IS ALL ABOUT THE KEYWORDS

We do not want to deny the importance of keywords, still one of the foundational elements of online - and mobile - optimization. What we want to point out is that keywords alone will not help you reach the first places in the ‘most downloaded’ list. If you just developed a great gaming app, just putting the ‘game’ keyword everywhere can’t be called optimization.

App stores have the same dynamics of traditional search engines, so you always need to work on your relevant keywords. However, you should never force them. Focus on the customer experience, be sure they are relevant and make sense in the context.

3. IT IS ALL ABOUT DOWNLOADS & RATINGS

Judging from ads and press releases, you might be misled to think that ratings and the number of downloads are the two key performance indicators you need to track to measure success. Ratings, of course, are a good signal of how customers consider your efforts; the download number is a signal of short term success. However, then?

Then you need a long-term digital strategy that involves all aspects of app publishing and distribution. Ratings do impact on user’s perception; they do not affect app store rankings. Five stars make a good impression; they do not make your ranking.

4. DESCRIPTION IS NOT THAT IMPORTANT

When you try to sell something, the first thing you do is to describe the value of your product, the uniqueness of its features. Easy, not? Well, not for many developers that still believe the description is an ‘extra’, not a mandatory element of the app store presence. This is a dangerous myth, and it can kill your efforts, leaving you app into oblivion.

Description is probably the second major element in ASO, right after the title. While not directly linked with rankings, it has a great role in the store algorithm. Don’t try to stuff it with keywords, just focus on the natural incorporation of keywords in what you are describing. Moreover, remember that apps now show up in Google’s result pages too.

5. BEING ON THE APP STORE IS ENOUGH

This is a die-hard myth: now that you are on the app store, hidden somewhere, you do not really need other work. Everything will happen as a some sort of magic, and downloads will flow as a mere consequence of you being there. Some still believe that as long as your app is there, people will find it. You do not need to advertise it; you do not even need to update it.

The truth is, with millions of apps available, it will take much collateral work to avoid failure. ASO is just one piece of the puzzle, and the competition is so fierce that you will need more ‘traditional’ marketing methods to sell it (from social media marketing to content marketing, advertising and PR).

And one last thing: do not abandon your app on the store. When you do it, your customers will do it too. So it will fade away.

To help you provide a strategic advantage to your organization, Neosperience has crafted the first DCX 7-Steps Checklist, with requirements and insights for a successful digital transformation. Download the free guide here:

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App Store Optimization: A Brief Guide To Perfect Your Mobile Marketing

Posted on by Neosperience Team

app_store_optimization_aso

Where do customers discover mobile apps? In 2015, is the app store still a critical success factor in mobile marketing strategy? Since the smartphone became our friendly companion, app store has proved itself a profitable marketplace for developers. However, is it still?

With over 3 million mobile apps available in the major stores, getting an app discovered (and downloaded) is one of the biggest challenges facing publishers today. You need to know how to marketing your app, and app store optimization (ASO) is a very important method - yet still mostly overlooked.

Right now, we all understand the value of search engine optimization (namely SEO) to deliver the best content properly ‘formatted’ through a website, blog and social networks. The only way to climb the rankings and sit where matters the most - the first page in Google’s SERP - is to follow the SEO best practices and improve customer experience.

Optimization is the keyword both Apple and Google are focusing on, to win the mobile war and ensure that users find what they need, when they need it, wherever they are and whatever device they are using. Why this evolution should not be valid also for mobile app stores?

A recent research by Google shows that, while apps are often discovered thanks to the opinion of friends, family or colleagues, stores still make the preferred channel to browse and scan thousands of alternatives.

In the exact moment you develop and publish your app, you enter a fierce battle, competing with over 1.6 million competitors in both the Apple Store and the Google Play Store to conquer customers’ attention.

WHAT’S APP STORE OPTIMIZATION?

What is, in a few words, the ASO? It can be defined as “the process of optimizing mobile apps to rank higher in an app store’s search results. The higher your app ranks in an app store’s search results, the more visible it is to potential customers. That increased visibility tends to translate into more traffic to your app’s page in the app store.” (Kissmetrics)

The goal of all your ASO efforts is evident: drive more qualified traffic to your page in the app stores, so users can convert, downloading your app.

The download might be just the first step in a more complex mobile app marketing strategy but, if you are untraceable in the depths of app stores, you will not even make that first step. When customers are not able to find you, it is like you do not exist at all. This is the first (and only) rule of app store optimization.

DO YOU REALLY NEED ASO?

Of course, you can live without optimizing your presence - much like you can avoid any investment in SEO and content management. It is a choice many brands have taken, spending in paid promotions to boost downloads, but competition raises costs. How can you compete with companies that have hundreds of thousands in advertising budget?

You can invest huge budgets in advertising and incentivized downloads, but that is not always a useful shortcut. You can spend all the money in this world to be first in line, but you must work to offer all useful information in a proper manner, or you will fall short anyway.

Same as results pages on search engines, organic is the answer. Moreover, that is where app store optimization comes in handy. ASO is your bet to avoid high expenditure while receiving the best outcome.

Optimization allows you to gain low-cost app visibility, increase the quality of your store page and boost downloads from quality users - increasing revenue in the process. With so many brands still overlooking optimization, ASO might become your secret weapon. Do you need further reasons?

A BRIEF GUIDE TO ASO

SEO and ASO are at the same time very similar (in tactics) and totally different (in scope).

Here we describe the core components of app store optimization, but consider that Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Windows Phone Store have slightly different rules.

KEYWORDS - All relevant keywords for that specific app should be included in all strategic pieces of the page (name, app description, keywords tag), but stuffing your content with keywords, is a terrible mistake too many still don’t understand.

CATEGORY - Choose the right category for your app, also based on the level of competition, to influence your ranking. Always keep an eye on competitors to learn what you should be doing in the store, and what you are doing wrong.

VISUALS - The first thing that users see is your logo. Make sure it is iconic and unique. Even on the app page, visuals represent the main element to attract. The rule is simple: take advantage of screenshots and video trailer to describe the app and be memorable.

PRICE - Is it price an internal ASO factor? Yes, because app stores often use prices to categorize, suggest and offer discounts. The app store homepage is your display window, make sure to put a price that make sense for what you offer.

LOCALIZATION - your app must speak the same language your customers speak. Localization is critical to helping users decide whether that is the right app for them or not. Use description to explain all localized features.

RATINGS - What is the first thing users look at when scrolling down an app list? Ratings and reviews. While they are out of your control, they can decide the fate of your app. Make sure to highlight positive reviews and always reply to negative comments.

DOWNLOADS - of course, you do not have complete control on the total number of downloads, often considered and external factor. Nonetheless, it has a great impact on ASO and customers’ evaluation.

BASIC ASO REQUIREMENTS

Search engine optimization is not made to cheat the machine but to satisfy customers. The same way, the ultimate aim of store optimization is not to increase traffic but to make sure your app is discovered by relevant users.

That said, ASO management requires that you fulfill few critical preconditions:

  • You will never optimize if you do not know who your digital customers are.
  • This knowledge is the base to understand the language spoken by those who search for your keywords.
  • Optimization takes time; customer engagement takes even more times.
  • Most of all: if your app is useless or badly designed, no optimization might save you from failure.

Remember, ASO is not carved in stone. It is in constant motion.

“Store Optimization continues to become more sophisticated today than it was yesterday. In the future, Apple and Google will recognize install/uninstall rates, engagement, retention, and ratings/reviews data. This will allow app developers to focus optimization efforts on keywords, images, descriptions and, most importantly, on in-app user activity.” (Aykut Karaalioglu, CEO of Mobile Action, on Go-Mash).

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Apple Watch: Why Your Digital Customers Love The Smartwatch

Posted on by Neosperience Team

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Is the Apple Watch the innovation your digital customers are looking for? Sure, the smartwatch is not a recent invention, but only now it is becoming a business success. Estimates for the first quarter of 2015 talk about 3 to 5 million units sold. Add the multitude of Android Wear and you will have the whole picture of a promising market.

This could be enough for an answer, but the real truth always lies beyond cold numbers. Success or failure of the Apple Watch will decide the role of the smartwatch in the redefinition of digital customer experience and - as a consequence - of your digital marketing strategy.

We will remember 2014 as the year companies seriously approached the smartwatch as a business tool. That was one year ago. Now that Apple’s brand new watch is a reality on store shelves, it’s legitimized the entire industry. Setting the watch as the new trend, because that’s what Apple does best.

There has been much hype around the market, but not mass adoption yet. Things are destined to change very soon. Despite all criticism and skepticism, 2015 will be probably remembered as the year the Apple Watch became the object of desire. For brands and digital customers, for CEOs, CIOs and CMOs.

The watch, together with the one-touch mobile payment system and the Healthkit platform, is the product Apple is focusing on to establish the brand as more than “those of the iPod/iPhone”. And reshape (once again) the mobile customer experience in the process. A fair bet if you think about it.

The focus is - now more than ever - on the digital customer. The experience you deliver is the key to succeeding in this era of digital transformation, not the technology that enables you to deliver it. The reason why the watch is considered Apple’s “most personal device yet”, something unlike any device they have ever made.

New interactions, new technologies to empower the customer to do familiar things more quickly and intuitively. If you are able to adopt this approach - at the same time ordinary and revolutionary - you will understand why the smartwatch can really disrupt your business. The small screen won’t be a problem anymore, neither the price.

As the market grows, and the rate of adoption runs fast (faster than the smartphone, actually), early-adopter brands are already looking for innovative ways to include the smartwatch into their digital customer journey.

The stakes are higher than ever: the ability to engage high-spending customers, conquer their heart and connect with them when it matters most. When they are near or in the store, and ready to make purchase decisions. The essence of the wearable revolution.

The realignment of your digital marketing strategy for this new era needs to start by extending the idea of mobile from smartphone/tablet to include this powerful new tool, the smartwatch.

One shiny object will shake up the wearable market, ready to cause a change in customer behavior and customer experience (both for B2C and B2B companies). The Apple Watch is way more than a self-tracker for fitness activities. As Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner, perfectly summed up:

“There is a ‘killer app’ of sorts, it is convenience. Convenience mainly from being able to leave your phone in your bag, pocket or at home. Smartwatches put people in control of their communications instead of letting the smartphone be in control of them. Smartwatches have the potential to keep us connected, but in a more convenient way.”

Where is the true value of the smartwatch? What features can you leverage to appeal digital customers?

APPS

Mobile app development, specifically dedicated to the watch, is still a territory largely untapped, but full of opportunities. Even with all their limitations, the smartwatch versions of iOS and Android offer plenty of features, both for third-party developers and brands willing to improve lead generation and customer engagement (i.e. see the brand-new Neosperience Watch Wand).

PAYMENTS

If mobile technology is changing the way we pay for the things we buy, there is no better option than the smartwatch to disrupt the mobile payment system. Relying on the contactless payment technology and unique security built-in features, Apple Pay and the Apple Watch have a clear promise: let you pay in a simple, secure and easier than ever way. Mobile companies fight for your (digital) wallet.

HEALTH

Say wearable technology and they will think about self-tracking. Though there is much more than meets the eye, fitness and health measurement make the core of many watch features (Healthkit anyone?). No wonder from the very first day all models have had built-in sensors that gather and analyze all sorts of personal data: activity, heart rate, walking distance. Healthy living is also a technological imperative.

INTERNET OF THINGS

Digital customers live in a world of connections, with other people, with the entire world and, last but not least, with the objects around them. The Internet of Things is the final tile in the interconnection between physical and digital worlds. The smartwatch could soon replace the smartphone as the primary method to control this world: smart home, smart car, smart office.

The key to the amazing experience your digital customer have been asking for.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: 4 Ways Virtual Reality Can Help You Improve Customer Experience

To help you provide a strategic advantage to your organization, Neosperience has crafted the first DCX 7-Steps Checklist, with requirements and insights for a successful digital transformation. Download the free guide here:

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4 Ways Virtual Reality Can Help You Improve Customer Experience

Posted on by Neosperience Team

How can you succeed in today's hyper competitive markets, ensuring that your brand stands out from the crowd? The secret is to engage customers emotionally, taking advantage of technology to increase engagement and drive sales. In one word: deliver an amazing digital customer experience.

Of all the technology initiatives out there, virtual reality and augmented reality probably are the most mysterious ones. What's for sure is that they have a huge - yet unexplored - business potential. They empower you to evolve your digital properties, leveraging the power of 3D to create a unique immersive experience.

Since Microsoft officially launched the futuristic HoloLens and the Holographic platform, the idea of virtual reality used to improve customer experience has become topical. How this technology will actually augment the experience, that's the question.

A major force that drives the evolution of business - retail & consumer goods above all - is the need for companies to differentiate themselves from competitors, find new ways to attract clients and boost sales.

Now that the disruption of mobile technology has totally reshaped the customer journey map, brands must focus on the creation of engagement across all channels and devices. Improving efficiency and saving money in the process.

Customers can use their smartphones, tablets and computers to live immersive experiences. In this perspective, there is no doubt that virtual reality - together with proximity marketing and the Internet of Things - could be a great deal for companies willing to invest in technology innovation.

Connecting the physical and digital experiences within the immersive framework of aspirational locations, virtual might force a revolution and transform the store as we know it, giving birth to the future of retail customer experience.

Although it is in itself a powerful tool, virtual reality is a means, not the final purpose. So it should be always implemented as part of an omni-channel digital marketing strategy (mobile app included).

Customer interaction, employee engagement and product design and showcase - you can use virtual worlds to make your brand come alive and help customers connect with your brand on multiple devices.

HoloLens and brothers could represent the missing piece of the bridge that connects brands and customers into a new level of experience in a 3D personal perspective. That's why many companies are already exploring the opportunity of using virtual reality to reduce costs, increase decision making and - most of all - involve their clients into an innovative storytelling and content development.

How to put words into business action, that’s the real problem. Just putting an head-mounted headset on your customers’ head won’t bring you satisfying results. You need a story, a personalized concept and a reliable technology (best cloud-based) to bring your virtual world to life.

We are just at the beginning of a road that will lead us all - entrepreneurs and customers - towards unexpected drifts. Here at Neosperience we believe that immersive delightful experiences can not do without the enabling power of 3D and the cohabitation mobile apps and disruptive devices (i.e. Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR).

Here we suggest some potential real-life applications that will enable you to really take advantage of virtual, delivering innovative customer experience and changing the expected interactions with the physical world.

3D DIGITAL SHOWROOM

Retail and brick-and-mortar are exactly the first terms that come to mind when you think about potential business applications of virtual reality. Just think about it: industries like beauty, luxury & fashion always need to deliver a one-of-a-kind touch and feel to their customers, instilling on every device the idea of an exclusive 'appmosphere'. A digital showroom in 3D such as Neosperience Showroom is perfect to personalize (with or without headset) the shopping experience, and offer innovative mobile and in-store experiences.

REMOTE CONTROL INSTRUCTIONS

Customer service augmented: you could communicate and interact with clients, offering step-by-step instructions on your products and real-time efficient service. Reality will be augmented by visual diagrams around the user, indicating exactly what to do and how to do it. Remote control could also work in the healthcare industry and medical services (a further evolution of Apple's Healthkit?).

VIRTUAL PRODUCT DESIGN

Virtual development platforms could be the best solution to cut expenses improving efficiency. You will be able to test drive products in all different stages of development without any additional costs, just relying on a virtual stage that will offer a 360 perspective. Not counting that you could offer the same opportunity to your customers, to personalize products and services.

GAMIFICATION AND LOYALTY

It's not by chance that the very first experiments with virtual reality were made for the gaming industry, as is not that one of the first HoloLens-attached projects will be augmented version of the well-known videogame Minecraft. Now that games have officially entered the marketing world, virtual and augmented reality become the perfect addition to your gamification strategy, to improve customer retention and foster loyalty.

Oculus Rift, Magic Leap, Gear VR and HoloLens: behind these sci-fi sounding names lies a huge business potential, that will eventually have deep consequences on your digital customer experience. Empowering customers, supporting their purchase process and, ultimately, enhancing the customer journey a little more each day.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Top 6 Rules Of Gamification - How To Engage Customers Playing With Them

Download The 7 Pillars Of The New Customer Loyalty to define the foundations on which to build your engagement and loyalty strategy, create innovative experiences and establish a lasting and valuable relationship with your customers.

The 7 Pillars Of The New Customer Loyalty

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in January 2015 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy with the latest trends and advancements of digital customer experience.

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Top 10 KPIs To Measure Mobile App Development Success

Posted on by Neosperience Team

mobile_app_Neosperience

The mobile app market is expected to reach 36.7 billion dollars in revenues by the end of 2015. With so much at stake, competition is rapidly evolving into a fierce battle to conquer users’ attention.

With app stores rapidly becoming crowded, how can you measure the success of your efforts? Mobile app development is not just a matter of downloads anymore. You need more specific KPIs to understand what’s going on.

Obviously, downloads are the first and most eye-catching key performance metric any company will analyze. They tell you how many people have chosen your app and whether or not your launch strategy was really effective. Like all other marketing-related fields, though, a single number means nothing without context.

Many years ago, when app stores were much less competitive, getting your app installed could be considered a great accomplishment in itself. Today, it is just the first step of the mobile customer journey, and it does not guarantee success in the long term. Too many users install apps that immediately fall by the wayside, forgotten and neglected.

A business development plan for the Age of the Customer can’t do without a customer-facing app, to bridge the online and mobile experiences. That said, the number of downloads does not indicate whether or not a mobile app campaign has been successful.

Yet marketers often still focus this KPI, spending all their budget in huge one-shot advertising campaigns (maybe even on traditional media) rather than planning a long-term customer engagement strategy.

According to a new research from eMarketer, mobile ad spending will reach 28.72 billion dollars in the United States in 2015; 3 billion will come from mobile application install ads, up 80 percent from 2014.

Considered in a broader digital marketing perspective, a well-designed app is a unique opportunity to add value to your strategy and instill the idea of a cutting edge brand, unlocking the power of a truly amazing digital customer experience.

While a mobile-friendly website is still considered the most important business card, in many respects it is not the top priority anymore. Apps now account for 86% of the time spent on mobile devices, replacing web browsers as the primary door to access the Internet.

In a world where the smartphone has become an extension of the body (particularly for younger users, the so-called millennials), an app should be never treated as a simple porting of the official website.

Your brand will be in the hands of users practically 24/7; your products and services will be one tap away in the purchase moment. This is an opportunity you should not waste. To ensure success, your app should bring something fresh and exciting to the table, enhancing the mobile customer experience and stimulate emotional connection with the brand.

With the launch of other disruptive mobile devices (i.e. the smartwatch, with Apple Watch and Android Wear already battling), and the connectivity of cars, objects, houses and stores, new apps will invade big and small digital screens.

This trend forces developers and marketers to adapt their output to the needs of tech-savvy customers. The number of downloads, needless to say, is totally inadequate when considered as the only KPI to measure engagement and loyalty.

To optimize the reach of your app, you need something more. What? More specific and dedicated KPIs. Every app is different, and there is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution, a set of key performance indicators working with no distinctions.

You need to pick the ones that fit your app. The ones that fit your business goals. And measure them in a given period of time. Here we share the top 10 KPIs to measure mobile app development success, according to Neosperience.

ACTIVE USERS

To download an app (specially when free) it’s the easiest thing in the world. What happens next is critical: how many of those that have installed your app actually use it? Monthly and daily active users tell you the truth about how much the world loves your app.

VISIT FREQUENCY

How many times users open the app and interact with your contents? The fact that they have the app installed in their smartphone is useless if they just open it once and for all. Hold frequency in check; the usage during the first week is a plausible signal of what will happen in the future.

SESSION TIME

The length of a single session is a performance indicator you should always consider in correlation with the number of active users in a given time and the depth of visit. This is even more true for gaming apps or section dedicated to the gamification dynamics.

DEPTH OF VISIT

This is an important engagement metric. The depth of visit is the number of screens or pages visited in one session. This information gives you two critical insights: how engaging and useful your content is; and how seamless and smooth is the experience you actually deliver.

CONVERSIONS

When the primary objective of your app is to sell or convert (i.e. retail app, fashion branded app and e-commerce), you should measure conversions in a given time. A conversion can be a purchase, a subscription or registration, depending on who you are. But remember that lifetime value is always more than a one-shot sale.

REVENUE PER USER

The potential of a loyal user base is pictured by a metric too often overlooked: revenue per user. This number indicates the overall value of an individual to your app business; not just in-app purchases (the Holy Grail of mobile marketing these days), but the app spending across all other digital channels.

SOCIAL SHARES

If your app is content oriented, in-app purchases are not the only KPI you might want to monitor. Mobile customers, more often than not, connect the app they install with their social media account. Social shares indicate interest in the content you deliver, and are perfect to increase word-of-mouth and build a trustful community.

RETENTION RATE

When you plan a loyalty strategy, one sale is nothing compared to repeat sales. Customer retention is cheaper than acquisition but harder to achieve. In a mobile market where a roughly 65% of users stop using an app no more than three months after install, retention rate in a given time is perfect to tell you how much your customers are engaged.

ACQUISITION COST

To know what’s the cost of customer acquisition, you need to understand where existing users found your app. App stores, in fact, are just one of many channels to promote your app. Search engine advertising, organic search, in-app referrals or social networks: different tools with different costs. This metric shows you the most efficient way to reach your potential audience.

USER EXPERIENCE

You can have the hottest app in the whole Internet, but it’s customer happiness that ultimately proclaims your success. And happiness is strictly connected with the user experience. Defective UI, bugs and crashes keep users away. Always check reviews and ratings to understand what customers think and what needs a fine tuning.

Success is marked by having loyal users that are regularly engaging with the app: spending their time to visit the different sections, converting, making purchases, playing with it. In the race to mobile engagement the app install is only the opening sprint. Find the right partner and develop a long-term omni-channel customer experience strategy.

To help you provide a strategic advantage to your organization, Neosperience has crafted the first DCX 7-Steps Checklist, with requirements and insights for a successful digital transformation. Download the free guide here:
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Improve Customer Experience: Download The DCX 7-Steps Checklist

Posted on by Neosperience Team

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How can I create compelling experiences for my customers? How can I guide them through the purchase process, from awareness to consideration to conversion? How can my brand evolve to embrace the mobile mind shift? Ever thought of building a checklist? The DCX 7-Steps Checklist will help you find the right answer, with requirements and insights to shape an amazing digital customer experience. A guide you can download for free.

As 2015 goes on, the key value of customer experience in the digital transformation in now undeniable: one of the latest report by Gartner predicts that "50 percent of consumer product investments will be redirected to customer experience innovations by 2017". As a result, the improvement of customer journey becomes top priority on the desk of entrepreneurs and marketing professionals.

In our world defined by disruptive mobile technology, before even starting their marketing planning companies need to recognize the two forces in action to disrupt how you build marketing strategies:

  • The empowered customer is the core of strategy, the main purpose of business (the Age of the Customer).
  • The smartphone is the primary tool to search for information and interact with brands (the Mobile-Mind Shift).

A mobile first approach, then, become critical to deliver optimal digital experiences, to connect with clients, improve engagement and meet expectations with personal, simple and compelling content and services.

WHY A CHECKLIST?

Where does the idea of a checklist come from? Some of the most respected professionals in the world, in any field, rely on the humble checklist to keep them organized and out of trouble. Advances in scientific knowledge now overwhelm event the most trained practitioners in many fields – to the point that they make regular but frequently avoidable mistakes.

Boston-based surgeon Atul Gawande’s research into the aviation, construction and investment industries helped shape the World Health Organization’s production of a two-minute, 19-point surgical checklist that has saved countless lives worldwide.

Gawande’s book – The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right, provides sample checklists, instructive examples and plenty of food for thought about how to create and fine-tune checklists that fit your job and your organization’s mission.

Good checklists focus on the “killer items” – the ones that are “most dangerous to overlook” and that people are most likely to skip. Boeing in example uses two types of checklists: “DO-CONFIRM” to verify that pilots carry out critical actions and “READ-DO” for specifying the steps pilots take while doing a specific action.

Get the DCX 7-Steps Checklist

WHY A DCX CHECKLIST?

Working everyday with customers and prospects in key economic sectors - retail, fashion and luxury, automotive, financial services to name a few - at Neosperience we have recognized the importance of a non-static method to gain a strategic advantage. The idea of using checklists in critical areas is simple, yet powerful.

It got us thinking about what a digital customer experience (DCX) checklist might look like. So we crafted the first DCX 7-Steps Checklist with requirements for all projects that touch or impact organizations involved in the digital transformation and the creation of a customer-facing app.

Here is a brief description of the building blocks of a digital customer experience checklist:

  1. There is a clear definition of your target customers, with properly designed storytelling, content marketing strategy and buyer personas. The needs of target customers are well understood and you are aiming at helping and making them active participants in the experience, delivering them relevant content, with right-time personalization and engagement.
  2. A cross-functional team, with the right people from different functions has been put in place to work together (and never forget about employee engagement).
  3. You have a clear understanding of the constant stream of new technology to enhance user experiences at every touch point. What’s key for you is to understand how your specific customers can use technology, in particular Android and iOS smartphone and tablet innovation, to improve their experience with your brand.
  4. A customer journey mapping activity has been performed and there is a clear understanding of the various touch points where a digital transformation adds value in the customer’s perspective. Understanding and optimizing digitally the journey map to purchase lets you offer necessary education and a seamless experience to make it simple for people to do business with you.
  5. An agile and iterative methodology and process is in place, from the conception stage, with resources and time properly allotted, to allow working on rapid-cycle test and learn.
  6. The digital customer experience is shaped for every stage of the customer journey, from initial roll-out to ongoing support.
  7. You have defined clear objectives, associated metrics and a measurement system for how the project will impact target customers.

One of the first things you have to recognize is that digital isn’t just this added thing. It's not just one more channel. It's different and it’s about changing the way you’re operating, because it is about using data, faster cycle times, more interactivity with more empowered customers.

Much of this is – and will remain – outside our control, as the volume and complexity of the data we collect with mobiles, combined with the complexity of our customer’s minds, have exceeded our ability to take into account all the details. Digital customer experience knowledge is both saving us and burdening us.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in October 2014 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy with the latest trends and advancements of digital customer experience.

Before downloading, a final practical advise: just ticking boxes on our 7 steps digital customer experience checklist is not the ultimate recipe. Choosing the right technology platform and partner, avoiding pitfalls and embracing a culture of teamwork and discipline is.

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Neosperience Wins 2014 International GrandPrix For Mobile Marketing

Posted on by Neosperience Team

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Neosperience has won 2014 International Events & Relational Strategies GrandPrix, an award dedicated to the most innovative and effective marketing experiences. Neosperience was awarded with the first prize in the Mobile Marketing category, for its Carpigiani MyGelato App and ecosystem. This honor confirms a great year full of achievements for the company's customers.

Dario Melpignano, Neosperience CEO, has received the GrandPrix award along with Michela Iorio, Carpigiani Digital PR & Communication. The jury of the Award brought together corporate marketing experts, technology companies and the academic world, to select the entries “addressing market needs and focusing on the industrial sector to which the products belongs”. A choice that highlights the key link between market and digital innovation in an era defined by mobile mind shift and empowered customers.

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Neosperience has been chosen for developing an “application created for tablets and smartphones aiming at promoting, selling or creating awareness about a product or service; including branded apps, in-app advertising, mobile display, SMS and mobile video adv. Newsletters, ads and direct campaigns sent by e-mail”.

Once again an eminent award testifies the relevance of the digital customer experience for companies that want to innovate and effectively implement their digital transformation. The International GrandPrix comes just two months after the Top Innovation Award Italy 2014, an honor that was appointed to Neosperience by the President of the Italian Republic as the best technology company of the year.

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Neosperience Wins 2014 Top Innovation Italy Award

Posted on by Neosperience Team

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Neosperience has won the Top Innovation Award Italy 2014, an honor appointed by the President of the Italian Republic to the best tech company of the year. The prize has been awarded in the prestigious setting of the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome. Dario Melpignano, CEO of Neosperience, has received the award from Stefania Giannini, Ministry of Education, University and Research, on behalf of President Giorgio Napolitano.

Neosperience is the first technology platform ever to receive this recognition in all six edition of this award, the most prestigious in Italy. Neosperience has been chosen "for developing an app platform integrated with social networks, that allows gelato shops to increase their customer base through geo-referenced campaigns and offering innovative services to their clients."

"I am happy and proud to receive this important award - said Dario Melpignano - which testifies the results of our teamwork and the centrality of digital customer experience for companies that want to innovate and evolve with digital. MyGelato App demonstrates the urgent need for companies to evolve their connection with customers across all digital touchpoints, to reach new markets and generate new revenues. This award further motivates us to go on shaping great experiences like Carpigiani MyGelato and help companies manage their relationship with clients in a more effective way, delivering massive business results thanks to these new powerful tools."

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